2002 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

The 2002 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Mike DeBord, the Chippewas compiled a 4–8 record (2–6 against MAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the MAC's West Division, and were outscored by their opponents, 384 to 267.^[1][2] The team played its home games in Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan,^[3] with attendance of 103,865 in six home games.^[4]

2002 Central Michigan Chippewas football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	4–8 (2–6 MAC)
Head coach	Mike DeBord (3rd season)
MVP	Robbie Mixon
Home stadium	Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 24 Marshall x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
UCF		6	–	2					7	–	5
Miami (OH)		5	–	3					7	–	5
Ohio		4	–	4					4	–	8
Akron		3	–	5					4	–	8
Kent State		1	–	7					3	–	9
Buffalo		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Toledo xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
Northern Illinois x		7	–	1					8	–	4
Bowling Green		6	–	2					9	–	3
Ball State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Western Michigan		3	–	5					4	–	8
Central Michigan		2	–	6					4	–	8
Eastern Michigan		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Derrick Vickers with 1,828 passing yards, Robbie Mixon with 1,361 rushing yards, and Rob Turner with 506 receiving yards.^[5] At the time, Mixon's 1,361 yards ranked as the seventh best season total in Central Michigan history.^[6] Mixon also set a Mid-American Conference record with 377 rushing yards (on 43 carries) in a 47–21 victory over against Eastern Michigan on November 2, 2002.^[7] Mixon was also selected at the end of the 2002 season as the team's most valuable player.^[8]

Jovan Clark had 20 tackles for loss for 62 yards, which was at the time tied for the second best total in school history.^[9] Offensive guard Kyle Croskey was selected as a first-team All-MAC player.^[10]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	Sam Houston State*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	W 34–10	18,826	[11][12]
September 7	Wyoming*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	W 32–20	18,251	[13]
September 14	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 24–17	15,629	[14]
September 21	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 29–39	32,740	[15]
September 28	at Boston College*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 0–43	41,826	[16]
October 12	Bowling Green	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 35–45	24,127	[17]
October 19	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 0–49	20,186	[18]
October 26	Marshall	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 18–23	14,564	[19]
November 2	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (rivalry)	W 47–21		[20]
November 9	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 17–44	18,944	[21]
November 16	Ball State	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 21–38	8,235	[22]
November 23	Western Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry)	L 10–35	19,862	[23][24]
*Non-conference game

Roster

2002 Central Michigan Chippewas football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Obed Cetoute-Genaille Fr WR 2 Markus Naves Fr RB 6 Robbie Mixon Sr WR 7 Steve Messam Jr WR 9 Willie Hill Jr QB 10 Derrick Vickers Jr RB 13 Lance Gailliard Fr QB 14 Kent Smith Fr QB 15 Derek Gorney Sr WR 16 Roderick Means Sr QB 17 Grant Arnoldink So WR 18 Rob Turner Sr RB 19 Mike Pryce Fr RB 20 Alan Parks Sr RB 21 Kenan Lawhorne Jr RB 22 Dion Shields Fr FB 49 Adam Supianoski Jr OL 68 Jay Gillette Fr C 69 Eric Ghiaciuc So OT 70 Adam Kieft So OT 72 Jeff Jenerou Jr OT 73 Tom Langton Sr OL 75 Troy Golba So OL 77 Dean Zarafonetis So WR 81 Justin Harper Fr WR 83 Nick Thompson Jr TE 85 Tory Humphrey So	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 5 Ron Bartell So CB 8 Tyrone Kelly Fr FS 20 Matt Gorman Fr DB 22 Mike Thomas So CB 23 Fabrice Raymond Fr DB 24 James King Jr DE 41 Cullen Jenkins Sr LB 50 Dexter Scott Fr DL 71 Thomas Patrick So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 3 Christopher Stoffel Fr PK 17 Andrew Christofferson So P 40 Brian Brandt Jr	Head coach Mike DeBord Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster